11.04.2012

Taken was one of my unexpected favorites in 2008. So imagine my excitement for this action flick's sequel.

The movie introduces Bryan Mills (Liam Neeson) reestablishing his relationship with his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) and ex-wife Lenore (Famke Janssen). Taken 2 picks up a year after the events of the first film, where Bryan successfully saved his daughter from human traffickers in Paris. Now, Bryan will be haunted by the consequences of that rescue. The father of one of the men he killed to get Kim back is seeking revenge. On a trip in Istanbul, Bryan and Lenore gets abducted, but cleverly managed to escape with Kim's help. The action begins here, as this former CIA agent is forced to retaliate.

Taken 2 was a decent follow up, although predictable. A sequel where the baddies' nearest and dearest strike back at your hero and his family is just unoriginal.

There's more running here. I mean far-better-than-The-Bourne-Legacy kind of running, and a cliché but awesome car chase sequence.

The movie felt like Transporter. But of course, this was also directed by Transporter 3's Olivier Megaton.

As a sequel, it’s rather underwhelming because the story wasn't as smart as Taken, nor as intense, although the fragile-daughter-becoming-the-heroine-and-not-the-victim-anymore subplot was pleasantly refreshing. The action and fighting scenes are great; it just lacked the brutality that its predecessor showed when a father was so hell bent on rescuing his precious daughter. Even Megaton's Colombiana had more kick-ass action scenes than Taken 2, I think. But Neeson made up for the slack, thank goodness. Maggie Grace did so very well too, playing a bigger role this time around.

It's a lot of fun if you fancy seeing Neeson run around -- shooting, driving, and killing thugs. It’s got a good amount of conflict, adrenaline and drama.

I’m not jumping up and down about Taken 2, but I had a good hour-and-a-half with it. RATING: 7/10